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Air Force

Pentagon Inspector General Highlights Continuing F-35 Readiness Concerns

Frank Wolfe

Wednesday, January 7th, 2026

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Pentagon Inspector General Highlights Continuing F-35 Readiness Concerns

Pictured is a U.S. Air Force photo of an F-35A with the 4th Fighter Squadron at Hill AFB, Utah taking off during Red Flag 25-3 at Nellis AFB, Nev. on July 30, 2025.

While Air Force F-35A and Navy F-35C fighters by Lockheed Martin [LMT] were in the U.S. strike package against Venezuela on Jan. 3, a Pentagon Inspector General (IG) report last month highlighted continuing readiness shortfalls for the aircraft. The F-35 is the U.S. military's costliest acquisition program--more than $2 trillion over the fighter's life, of which $442 billion is for acquisition and $1.58 trillion is for sustainment. The average availability "for all military service F-35 aircraft in FY 2024 was…

Congress

House Sends Dec. 11 CR With Ship Construction Funds To Trump’s Desk For Final Signature

The House on Tuesday passed a stopgap funding bill to keep the government open through Dec. 11, sending the temporary funding measure that also includes funds to support ongoing shipbuilding […]

Missile Defense

Guetlein On Golden Dome: ‘We Cannot Protect This Nation And Bankrupt It At The Same Time’

While there has been criticism among missile defense advocates of Golden Dome’s development pace after the signing of an executive order in January last year, Space Force Gen. Michael Guetlein, […]

Missile Defense

Interview with Rep. Jeff Crank (R-Colo.), co-chair of the Golden Dome Caucus

Rep. Jeff Crank (R-Colo.), a co-chair of the Golden Dome Caucus in Congress and a member of the House Armed Services Committee’s strategic forces panel, discusses the transformative defense investments […]

Space

Space Force PAE For Infrastructure Completing Move To Colorado Springs

U.S. Space Force Space Systems Command’s (SSC) Portfolio Acquisition Executive (PAE) for infrastructure–a $4 billion contracting hub for SSC–is completing a move from Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif. to […]